70 Bangor Area Parents Want Busing To Return

Busing and the length of the school day were on the minds of about 70 parents who attended last night's work session of the Bangor Area School Board.

Parents complained about the discontinuation of their children's bus stops, transfers to different elementary schools and earlier elementary dismissals.

President Ronald Angle gave everyone an opportunity to speak but several times said he would adjourn the meeting if the audience did not remain quiet.

A large number of parents from the South Bangor area spoke against young children walking to Bangor Elementary Center. Mrs. Helena Ninno, who has two girls 5 and 8, told the board Messinger and S. Main streets and Broadway and S. First Street pose a significant hazard due to heavy traffic. She also observed children will have to cross railroad tracks on S. Main Street to reach school.

Mrs. Ninno said she and her daughters walked theroute, nine-tenths of a mile, recently and required 36 minutes to reach school.

She contended a 5-year-old does not pay sufficient attention to traffic.

"Put yourself in our place," she said, "How would you feel? What are the priorities? Money or safety?"

Two Bangor borough councilmen representing South Bangor, Kenneth Miller and Ralph Bonney, also spoke in favor of retaining bus service from that area to BEC. Miller asked, "Has any thought been given to a crossing guard?" He suggested four or five guards would be required for the route.

Miller told the board, "I would rather you raise my taxes a mill and have the children getting safely to school."

Two South Bangor parents said they will not send their children to school if there is no bus service.

Other parents spoke of concerns about child molesters and bad weather for children walking the distance.

George Wynne Jr. of 80 N. 9th St. was similarly disturbed that the bus stop at 8th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue used by his children had been eliminated. Wynne said the eight-tenths of a mile walk is too great, especially for a 5-year-old going to kindergarten. "Your first priority should be getting the children to school," he said.

Several parents from the Jacktown area of Washington Township asked why their children were being transferred from Washington Elementary School to BEC.

Others said the new elementary dismissal time of 2:10 p.m. would create problems due to their work schedules.

Superintendent Wilford Ottey said since he came to the Bangor District, he has been concerned about unnecessary transportation expenses. He explained the state reimburses the district only for busing children who live at least one and a half miles from school. He said he asked, "Why were we busing over 200 children for whom we were not reimbursed?

"I felt we were transporting many more students than we need to transport," he said, "We have sidewalks in Bangor (borough). We have a school in Bangor."

He said the district came up with a one-mile minimum for busing.

Responding to parents' concerns, he said, "Would I let my kindergarten child walk from South Bangor? Probably not alone." He said, "As a parent, there's going to have to be some responsibility taken there."

Angle commented on the same point. He said, "I think what some of you are saying is you don't want to accept a certain amount of responsibility for your children. The point is the responsibility lies with you."

Ottey said concerns for child molesting are not valid reasons to bus children. "What do I say to the people whose children walk four blocks and whose child is picked up by a child molester?" he asked.

He also said older children serving as safety patrols will accompany the younger kids from South Bangor. He said safety patrols already cross children at Broadway and First "quite successfully."

Director Hayden Pritchard said he feels crossing guards are needed if children from South Bangor are to walk to school. He received loud applause when he told the audience, "Next week (at the action meeting), I can make a motion to reinstate the busing the way it was in 1984-85 and I will make that motion."

As for the shorter elementary school day, Ottey said, "The overriding reason . . . is that our elementary day as it was in the past was too long." He said surrounding districts where parents work in the same industries have used the earlier dismissal successfully. "I think our teachers are excited about the kind of day we're going to have," he said, "It was done for the benefit of the kids. This, I'm convinced, is going to improve the education of the kids."

In response to working parents' needs, he said the district is considering a latch-key program after school.

Curriculum Director Ned Fairchild said of switching children from Washington to BEC, "Most of the transfers took place because of class size."